BBC iPlayer Global App Hits The Wall In USA

Efforts by the BBC to make its popular iPlayer service available in the USA have met staunch resistance from local cable TV networks, meaning it’s unlikely to be rolled out in the country anytime soon. The UK public service broadcaster recently announced that it would be extending its overseas iPlayer offering by another 12 months, but the US is among the countries that are noticeably absent from the trial.

BBC iPlayer Global app
BBC iPlayer Global app hits the wall in USA

Rumour has it that American cable TV networks are to blame for the absence of Global iPlayer in the United States, as they see the service as a rival to their own offerings. The problem boils down to the fact that both the iPlayer and American cable companies carry the same content from the BBC America channel, and so the service could potentially ‘steal’ viewers from US networks. To prevent this from happening, US networks have threatened to drop BBC America completely if BBC Worldwide goes ahead and launches the iPlayer in the States.

Forced to choose between the two services, it seems that BBC America (the British broadcaster’s largest brand in the US) has won out – at least for the time being. The global iPlayer app is unlikely to be seen in the USA anytime soon, although the BBC hasn’t given up on plans to launch in America just yet.

Tessa Matchett, BBC’s Head of Communications for Global iPlayer, said that:

“The United States is a very complex media market. Currently, we have one very successful cable channel in BBC America, and we’re looking into what options we have to roll out additional platforms in that country.”

In the meantime, while it mulls its American dilemma, the BBC is set to press ahead with extended trials for Global iPlayer elsewhere. The service has been available for the last 12 months in 18 different European countries, and for a shorter period of time in Canada and Australia. The Beeb have been using the trial period to assess the iPlayer’s performance, content mix and consumer demand in different markets, and with the full support of the BBC Trust has decided to extend coverage until autumn of this year so that it can accrue more data.

The trial is part of BBC Worldwide’s long-standing plans to offer its content to the rest of the world as paid VoD (video on demand). As well as offering content through syndicated and its own brand TV channels, the company has also began selling shows through platforms such as iTunes. In addition, the BBC World News channel has already enjoyed significant success in foreign markets, although this also met with competition in the US, where it is only offered as part of a Livestation package alongside the Al Jazeera English, Sky News and France 24 news channels.

Source: TechRadar

31 comments

  1. This would be so very disappointing if we couldn’t get this here in America. My cable company does provide BBCAmerica, which is a terrible substitute for the “real” BBC. They show the same few shows over and over and also have many shows that have nothing to do with the BBC such as Star Trek! I know so many people who were eagerly awaiting this to be provided for us.

  2. I really hope that we can get i player in us. bbc america is terrible.

  3. Let them drop BBC America!!!! The BBC iPlayer would be the TRUE BBC and that’s what we want, please continue trying to get this to the US!

  4. BBC America can go, I agree, I rarely watch it anymore! PBS has better british programming than BBC America. Bring on BBC!!!

  5. I concur that BBC America can go, I watch PBS EastEnders, but I would love to see it with the UK, we are three years behind.

  6. Yes, BBCA can go. Have been waiting many years to stop being illegal ..more than happy to actually pay for it! Until then proxy service wins.

    @ Terry..try 7 years behind on PBS….put it this way..Sharon just got back this week…and she has been gone for FIVE! I use identitycloaker.com because I, too, have to have EE every week. Happy to pay the Beebs when they get it together.

  7. To all the cable providers:
    PLEASE drop BBC America and bring us BBC iPlayer!!! BBCAmerica is a joke. Always has been. No one is even watching it because they only broadcast garbage and assume that Americans can’t understand British. BBCAmerica is a dismal failure.

    There is a huge audience here in the US, cultivated for decades by PBS, who want to be able to access everything the BBC has to offer. BBCAmerica does not bring it to us. We want iPlayer.

  8. I gave up on BBC America & Canada. These channels do not represent British TV in anyway.
    What did i do?
    I subscribe to a UK Company (Approx $14 per month) and use a UK IP address that allows me to stream BBC, ITV, C4 Live or use there Iplayers.
    Put it this way, i watched most of the Olympics via BBC1
    Best 15 bucks i spend every month

  9. BBC America is a joke. We have lived here in USA for 5yrs and watched about 2hrs worth of Kitchen Nightmares. Watching via iplayer is the only way to get the true Beeb and the quality of programming we have been bought up on in the UK. Please bring iplayer to USA for all our sanity!!

  10. I agree. This is so frustrating. BBC America is awful. I’ve been waiting for the BBC iPlayer for a long time. I’ve read articles over the last couple of years that indicated its US launch was just around the corner. I know that you can get a UK IP but I don’t think that is legal ?? Most people who really want BBC content must feel like we do. What can we do to convince BBC executives? Is there a Facebook page?

    I would love to find a way to watch the Last Night of the Proms on Sept 8th. At least you can listen to it on Radio 3 but watching would be so much better. I want to “see” the Promenaders bobbing up and down when the Sailor’s Hornpipe is played. Not being able to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics was very disappointing — NBC’s coverage was a joke.

  11. Agreed: BBCAmerica shows long blocks of Top Gear and Star Trek (?). It has little content of interest to me.

    I would LOVE iPlayer in the U.S. because I love all those British shows we don’t get to ever see — or only get to see months later, or a year later on Netflix.

  12. BBC America was one of the few channels I wanted in the U300 package that ATT pedals for over $100 per month by the time all fees are paid. It’s time consumers be able to get their TV a la carte instead of being stuck with bundles of crap we don’t want. For now, I’m sticking with my Roku.

  13. Irritated beyond imagining-I have been waiting for BBC Iplayer to become available for over a year here in the US-I will not buy an Ipad until I can run BBC Iplayer on it. I do not have cable but when I still had cable BBC America stunk. All the decent BBC programs are still found only on PBS (free), the library (free) and YouTube (free) The BBC must like giving all their profits away for free because thats what they’re doing. And by the way, no one picks their cable/satelite package becase BBC America is on it-not if they’ve seen it first….and I like Star Trek but come on

  14. why not sell the content to the likes of netflix as this has just launched in the UK maybe they can bring a bit of British back to the USA

  15. BBC America IS awful, so I never watch it. Although PBS gets a nice selection of BBC shows, we get them months after the British, and we don’t get everything. I too would love to see the BBC dump BBC America and hook up with Netflix. I’d even be willing to pay the full £145.50 (about $232) annual licensing fee that all Brits pay in order to access all BBC radio and TV shows via iPlayer on my desktop computer and mobile devices, as well as through Roku on my television. That’s way cheaper than cable.

  16. I agree, BBC America sucks, continually repeating, boring re-hashed gumph. I use “expatshield” it’s free but you have to suffer ad banner at top of screen for a few seconds which you can close.

  17. Our cable company offers BBC America, or has in the past, but we don’t get it. I’m not willing to pay the additional monthly fee for a bunch of stations that I don’t want. I would love to be able to buy seasons or individual shows, or better yet, stream it for free.

  18. Wow. Didn’t realize so many people feel the same way about BBC America as I do. They offer too few programs, not enough variety and re-runs of shows I’ve either already seen several years ago or shows I am just not interested in.

    I’d love to see the iPlayer app available here, there is much more to the BBC than BBC America.

  19. Totally agree with those saying that bbc America is not worth the money. Bring on the iplayer!

  20. Now is the time to take on these cable companies ! BBC iplayer can thrive over here and would indeed be great competition to the likes of Time Warner and Comcast. It’s a Global Market we are constantly informed ! Don’t be afraid to take on these big boys because with the BBC’s content you can WIN and big too !

  21. I don’t know anyone now who watches BBC America. It’s shows are rubbish. We need the iplayer.

  22. We receive better BBC shows on Public Broadcasting. BBC America?? Don’t think we are fooled, you USA cable companies. We are not seing real shows from Britain on that network!

    In this day and age, this issue is ridiculous!! Streaming everything LIVE is the future. Figure it out so we in the US aren’t left behind. (like we are now with shows like Downton Abbey and Who Do You Think You Are)

  23. Yes, BBC 1 is not worth watching–old James Bond films, tv shows that appeared long ago on PBC, and very little news coverage.

    I wish that BBC America would show the Danish original of “The Killing,” the French policier “Engrenages,” and any other superior, current Euro tv shows. No reruns!

  24. Just adding my hatred of BBC America to the conversation, and my love of iPlayer. If my fellow Brits could see what the US watches on BBC America, they would laugh in our faces, and I wouldn’t blame them!

    Bring on the iPlayer, let BBC America DIE!

  25. I have never seen such a unanimous set of views online … I guess at the end of e day it boils down to $$$ … Even though BBC America is rubbish … People are watching it and advertisers are buying time slots …. But, I agree with an earlier post …, I’d happily pay the license fee … If enough people feel that way maybe it makes sense for the Beeb to call the bluff of the US cable companies ….

  26. “Real” BBC requires one to embrace a new concept:
    NOOOOOO ADVERTISING

    I dont think America is quite ready for that

  27. I would happily pay a fee if we could get the player here! We are in desperate need of quality programming from BBC.

  28. I refuse to pay for cable TV. There just isn’t enough worth watching for the price they charge. I would pay for access to the BBC iPlayer in a heartbeat. I think that the BBC would be pleasantly surprised to discover how well they could do over here. Wish they would just take a chance. Instead they cave in to pressure by the Cable monopolies.

  29. I totally agree with the comments, BBC America is a waste of time, I am going to cut my cable and do net flicks and PBS. I am sick of paying for channels I do not want.

  30. BBC should just stick it to the American networks and open up the normal iPlayer for people from the US who want to play the licence fee!

  31. USA has a population of about 350 million people. Not all of us are slapping our knees and guffawing over Chef Ramsay, Graham Norton or Top Gear. Whoops! Add Startreck reruns and barely watchable usa movies and I’ve named about 80% of BBCA’s listings! I’d gladly pay the full licensing fee PLUS more. At present I pay approximately $100 a month to watch maybe 20 hours a month of tv plus BBC news channel. Heck, I’d gladly pay that $100 a month to BBC Worldwide.

    Please believe that not all Americans want to watch the **** that is offered on bbca!